This invention relates to the management of information systems.
A collection of resources or components within an information system can typically be represented as a set of managed objects. Such a representation can be helpful for management, for example for remote management of part or all of the system.
The Common Information Model (CIM) is a model for describing overall management information in a network/enterprise environment. The CIM is used to enable, for example, the remote management of elements of the system over a network. The CIM could be thought of as a data dictionary for systems and network management, providing labels for entities, attributes, relationships, and actions and documenting how these properties are interconnected. The CIM includes a CIM Specification and a CIM Schema.
The CIM Specification defines details for integration with other management models. As a result, the CIM Specification enables other management schemas to be mapped to its data structures. The CIM Specification includes naming conventions, mapping techniques, and a Meta Schema, which establishes the rules for defining the Schema.
The CIM Schema represents elements of managed objects including logical and physical objects. CIM is a data model. As result it is not tied to a particular programming language or protocol. The CIM Schema can be represented in text files structured according to the Managed Object Format (MOF), which is a language for defining CIM management information.
In order to implement a management application using the CIM, a CIM Object Manager (CIMOM) is typically used, the CIMOM typically being implemented on a single computer in a system forming part of or connectable to a system to be managed. The CIMOM intermediates between management applications or consoles, a data repository, and individual data sources and operates as a form of central dispatcher and facilitator. For performance reasons, a CIMOM is typically designed for a specific operating system in order to provide good performance and access to low-level events in the operating environment.
One example of a CIMOM is provided for the Solaris 8 operating system from Sun Microsystems. The Solaris Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) Services software includes: the CIMOM; a MOF compiler that can parse ASCII MOF statements and add compiled classes and instances to a CIM repository, which forms a central storage area for CIM information managed by the CIMOM; the CIM Schema, which consists of Java classes that describe managed objects in the Solaris Operating Environment; and CIM Providers, which support communications between the Solaris Operating Environment and the CIMOM.
In the Solaris implementation, multiple providers can be loaded via shared libraries and a specific loader. The multiple providers are each essentially static, being created at initialization. Providers are special classes that communicate with managed resources, such as disk drives and CPUs, to access data and then forward the data to the CIMOM for integration and interpretation. They can relieve the CIMOM, the primary WBEM agent that coordinates Solaris WBEM Services, by assuming the task of managing distinct subsets of WBEM resources. When the CIMOM receives a request for data from an application that is not available in the CIMOM Repository, it forwards the request, using the provider interfaces, to the appropriate provider.
Providers create, modify, and delete instances rather than classes (which serve as templates for the instances). Instances can exist in persistent storage or be used dynamically.
Although providers have their own process and memory and perform work delegated by the CIMOM, the CIMOM must know the location of each provider in order to perform its task of coordinating WBEM. The CIMOM therefore needs to be informed about each new or modified provider by including those providers in MOF file. A MOF file defines the classes and instances that a provider supports.
The functions of providers include providing data to management applications. When a management application requests data about a managed resource that is not available in the CIM Object Manager Repository, the CIM Object Manager forwards the request to a provider. The provider accesses the data from the managed resource and passes the data back to the CIMOM. The functions of providers also include the control of management resources. When a management application sends data to the CIMOM to control a managed resource, the CIMOM passes the data to the appropriate provider.
An interface is required between the providers and each of the modules providing instrumentation (instrumented modules) for representing CIM classes. The interfaces are non-standard, and need to be provided by the instrumented modules. Also, the instrumented modules, and their creators, need to be aware of all of the complexities of the CIM model. The creation of the multiple providers does not rely on the use of shared libraries, but does provide a general API that modules with CIM data can use.
The present invention seeks to further improve system management in a dynamic system environment.